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My Marilyn Come to My Slum for an Hour… with Brian C for Elska Magazine

I met Brian C. soon after he moved into my neighbourhood, pretty much fresh off the boat from Hong Kong. We wanted to do some sort of shoot, something a bit grimy, nothing more specific or developed than that. Then this line came to my head from the Suede’s old Dog Man Star album… from the track “Heroine”. He sang “My Marilyn come to my slum for an hour”. And that’s what stuck in my brain.

So I proposed that we chuck an old mattress against the wall and add some red-light realness… and there we had the slum part. For the Marilyn part I wanted to add some glam. We tried some glittery nail varnish but it just looked dumb; I pictured a wig and he sprayed hairspray all over, but it looked like an 80s Mink Difference advert .

So we kept our Marilyn vulnerable, sort of “morning after Marilyn”, who just woke up from a heavy night to find herself wondering how she ended up in this place. She needed comfort, so she cuddled a bunny and leant against a bare mattress, desperate for some warmth and softness.